1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a xe2x80x9cbag-in-a-drumxe2x80x9d container useful for storage and dispensing of fluids, which is adapted to minimize volumetric space requirements in storage, transport and use of the container. The container design in a specific embodiment includes a removable lid and liner to allow for the cost-effective return and reuse of the outer housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of semiconductor manufacturing, and in many other industrial process applications, fluid containers are employed as a source of process fluids. Such fluid containers may be fabricated and filled at remote locations from the end use facility, and are transported to the point of use by truck, rail or air transport.
At the end use facility, the containers may be stockpiled or maintained in inventory pending their introduction to the process system in which the fluid is to be utilized. The fluid-using process system may comprise fluid flow circuitry to which the container is coupled for selective dispensing of the fluid from the container to the process equipment of the system.
In semiconductor manufacturing and in numerous other fluid applications, high purity of fluid reagents is essential. In such applications, any significant fluid contamination may render the products manufactured by the fluid-consuming process deficient or even useless for their intended purpose. The containers used to supply fluids to the process systems manufacturing such products therefore must be of a character that avoids contamination issues in the process. Specifically, the container must be rigorously clean in condition. The container also must avoid xe2x80x9cparticle shedding,xe2x80x9d outgassing, and any other forms of contaminant contribution to the fluid being stored in the container from the container""s fluid-contacting components. The container further must maintain the fluid prior to its use in a pure state, without degradation or decomposition of the contained fluid.
In many of the aforementioned fluid-consuming manufacturing operations, the supply, transport, storage and disposition of the fluid containers entails substantial operating costs, as well as related capital expense in the provision of tank farms, fluid vessel storage vaults, and the like. There is a corresponding need in the art to provide fluid containers that minimize these capital and operating expenses.
Except in the case of chemical-dedicated, stainless steel vessels for commodity chemicals such as tetraethylorthosilicate, high purity containers typically are not refillable or reusable due to the costs associated with the return shipment of empty containers, the costs of cleaning the used containers to a level that meets purity requirements, and operational difficulties associated with the need to chemically-dedicate or customer-dedicate refillable containers. It would therefore be a significant advance in the art, in applications in which high purity fluids are consumed, to provide fluid containers that are reusable in a cost-effective and convenient manner, and to provide an integrated supply system for repetitive use of such containers.
The present invention relates to a bag-in-a-drum fluid storage and dispensing container having a compact conformation for storage, transport and use of the container, as well as to an integrated fluid supply system utilizing containers of such type.
In one aspect, the invention relates to a bag-in-a-drum container for storage and dispensing of liquid, e.g., a high-purity liquid. The container includes a substantially rigid overpack having an interior volume, and a 3-dimensional, closed liner of a flexible film material, mounted in the interior volume and capable of being filled with liquid.
In a specific embodiment, the invention relates to a bag-in-a-drum container for storage and dispensing of high-purity liquid, including a substantially rigid overpack having an interior volume, and a 3-dimensional, closed liner of a flexible film material, mounted in the interior volume and capable of being filled with liquid. The overpack comprises a substantially rigid receptacle portion including opposedly facing front and back walls and opposedly facing side walls, and a floor member, wherein the front, back and side walls are downwardly tapered and the overpack includes an upper portion that is removable or otherwise configured to allow nested vertical stacking of at least the substantially rigid receptacle portion of the container in a vertically stacked array of corresponding containers. In one such embodiment, the receptacle portion is of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped conformation. In another such embodiment, the receptacle portion is round with tapered sidewalls to facilite nesting. In either embodiment, the receptacle portion includes a liner formed of a virgin polymeric film material having a thickness in a range of from about 0.005 inch to about 0.030 inch, and the liner has a zero headspace conformation when filled with liquid. The liner has at least one port accommodating coupling of the liner with a connector for transfer of fluid into or out of the liner, and a cap coupled with the port, with the receptacle portion being formed of a substantially rigid polymeric material.
A further aspect of the invention relates to a method of supplying liquid in containers to an end user market and refabricating containers subsequent to consumption of the liquid therefrom. The method includes the steps of:
(a) manufacturing the containers, each including an overpack and wetted components (viz., a liner for containing the liquid, having a port for transfer of fluid into or out of the liner, and a cap and diptube coupled to the port);
(b) filling the containers with liquid to provide liquid-filled containers;
(c) transporting the liquid-filled containers to end users in the end user market, where the end users use the liquid in the containers, and generate emptied containers;
(d) transporting at least the overpacks of the emptied containers to a refabrication facility, and processing same to form refabricated containers including the overpacks of the emptied containers;
(e) transporting the refabricated containers to a liquid fill facility and filling same with liquid to provide liquid-filled refabricated containers; and
(f) repeating steps (c), (d) and (e) in sequence.
In such method, the end user after generating the emptied containers may remove the wetted components (e.g., the liner) and simply stack the nestable overpacks in stacked arrays for transport to the refabrication facility. Alternatively, the emptied containers may be shipped by the end user to the refabrication facility, and at such facility the wetted components (e.g., the liner) can be removed and the overpacks cleaned and inspected, followed by refabrication of the overpacks into refabricated containers, e.g., by insertion of new liners, and installation of new or recycled caps and diptubes.
Other aspects, features and embodiments of the invention will be more fully apparent from the ensuing disclosure and appended claims.